


Lovely, Dark, and Deep

by Spatzi_Schatz



Series: Monster Sheith Month 2019 [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, M/M, Mer keith, Monster Fuckers Sheith Month, Monsters, October Prompt Challenge, Octopus Shiro, Prompt Fic, The Garrison as Research Facility, dubious scientific ethics, mer shiro, merfolk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 07:40:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20888522
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spatzi_Schatz/pseuds/Spatzi_Schatz
Summary: As the only knownHomo octopodaspecimen in captivity, Shiro enjoys certain perks at The Garrison Institute of Marine Life and Oceanology, such as his very own room-sized tank and all the fish he could ever want. That is until a research vessel finds an injured Mer and brings him to the Garrison for medical attention. But the feral Mer has no intention of playing nice with the Garrison scientists.





	Lovely, Dark, and Deep

**Author's Note:**

> Day 3 of [Monster Fuckers Sheith Month](https://twitter.com/monstersexsheit) and I'm caught up! Some day I'll get NSFW content out of this list, but today it seems is not that day..

Shiro had always had a tank to himself, even though he knew there were other aquatic creatures who lived at The Garrison Institute of Marine Life and Oceanology. Shiro saw them when Dr. Holt would escort him to the research tank for tests, or when Matt, Dr. Holt’s son, would tell him about what the seals and penguins had gotten up to across campus in the Arctic exhibit. Or, when he was feeling particularly restless, Shiro would sneak out to visit with the ancient sea turtle a few halls over. 

But Shiro was the only one with his own tank because Shiro was special. 

He was the only known  _ Homo octopoda _ specimen to have survived in captivity. Shiro hadn’t been born in captivity, but he had been so young when Dr. Holt and his family had found him, beached and stranded on a sandbar, that he didn’t really remember his life in the ocean. The hope had been to rehabilitate him and release him back into the wild, but a genetic anomaly that lead to painful muscle spasms and eventually the loss of his arm made that impossible.

So, at the Garrison he stayed. And it wasn’t a bad life. He worked with Dr. Holt so the humans could better understand his kind, how to help them like Dr. Holt had helped him with his childhood injuries and his disease. They fed him every day, twice a day. Matt came to chat with him after his classes, or his shifts in the Arctic wing; and Katie now too, Matt’s little sister, came after her duties as an intern were finished. He had his den, shaped like what Matt called a “rocket ship,” and every once and awhile, Matt would smuggle him into one of the outdoor tanks, meant for the seals and whales, to look at the bright lights in the sky Matt called “stars” and tell him stories about the pictures humans had imagined up there. Shiro liked the stories, and the stars, but he especially liked the moon, sometimes yellow, sometimes red, sometimes blue, but always huge and beautiful in the dark sky. 

Shiro didn’t share his tank, but suddenly, there were barriers where there hadn’t been before, blocking off a nice section of his tank with a forest of kelp and a rock outcrop where Shiro sometimes liked to nap. The atmosphere of the Garrison had changed as well, charged. He didn’t see Dr. Holt every day, but the interns too rushed through his meals and routine exercises, excited and anxious in turns. Even Matt only stopped by to wave manically, grin, and give him a thumbs up, before hurrying away again. 

Shiro watched all this, nonplussed, as he floated around his, now smaller, tank. He had just about lost interest in the humans when there was a loud commotion above on the deck. Propelling himself up to the surface, he watched as six large humans carrying a squirming tarp between them struggled on the deck on the other side of the new partition. Dr. Holt following closely behind them. 

“Be gentle,” the scientist said. “His injuries are still healing.” 

“No offence, Doc,” one of the large humans grunted, “But he’s probably a lot tougher than either you or me could ever hope to be.” 

Dr. Holt laughed. “That is probably true. But still, be as careful as you can. He’s probably still disoriented from the anesthesia and all of this is new for him. He’s likely more scared of us than we are of him.” 

In the humans’ defense, they tried their best to comply with Dr. Holt’s instructions, but as they got closer to the edge, the creature bound in the tarp gave a violent lurch, ripping the support cables from their moors and the support scaffolding from the human’s hands. The tarp hit the metal deck with a meaty slap before tipping over the edge, creature and tarp both, with a large splash. Shiro propelled himself to the glass barrier as the tarp sank, ready to climb into the other tank to help the other creature, but before he could so much as put a sucker to the glass, the creature tore itself free using both teeth and claws, thrashing until it was free. 

He was stunning. Long and lean, his skin was so pale as to be nearly translucent lilac in places, covered in darker purple frills and markings, on his face, along his arms and down his back to a powerful tail so dark it was nearly black as his inky hair, floating in wild tresses in the water. The creature uncoiled to his full height, fins flared wide in aggression as he whipped around, looking for a target. Golden glowing eyes found and locked on Shiro’s. Eyes narrowing, he hissed and bared sharp teeth, before rocketing up, breaking the surface with a splash and lashing out at the gathered scientists on the deck. He fell back into the water, ducking below the surface to submerge his gills, but continued to glare up at the scientists, letting out a growl that reverberated eerily through the tank, before diving back under, slapping water at the scientists with his tail before he darted into the kelp forest. 

Shiro looked back at the shocked and soaked scientists, not quite sure why he found the scene as amusing as he did. 

Dr. Holt recovered first. “Well, he’s a spitfire, isn’t he?” 

“Why didn’t you tranquilize him, Dr. Holt?” A voice rose from the back of the room. 

Dr. Holt turned toward it. “Director Sanda… This wasn’t out of the range of expected outcomes. I didn’t want to antagonize him further by drawing a weapon.” 

Director Sanda strode forward, narrow gaze scrutinizing the rippling water, the wet scientists, and then Dr. Holt. “If he becomes hostile, use the gun. That is what it’s there for, Dr. Holt.” 

Dr. Holt straightened. “Yes Ma’am,” he said. 

Director Sanda studied him for a moment longer before nodding to him and leaving the room, followed soon after by the dripping scientists. Dr. Holt let out a long breath, running his fingers through his gray hair, before turning toward Shiro’s tank. He smiled and walked to the edge of the long dock, kneeling down so that he and Shiro were at level to chat. 

“Hey Shiro, sorry for all the hoopla,” he said. “But you’ve a new neighbor now. Isn’t it exciting? We’ve never seen a mer of his kind or coloring before! We’ll be able to expand our data on ocean folk exponentially!” 

Shiro smiled indulgently at the scientist, who chuckled. 

“Right, well. I think that part is exciting,” Dr. Holt said. “But having a new friend will be exciting for you, don’t you think?”

Shiro made an agreeable sound. His vocalization range wasn’t great, especially above water. 

“He was injured when the research vessel found him, but we patched him up and he seems to be healing well, we think. We’ll be monitoring him closely to see if he’s a candidate to return to the ocean but…” Dr. Holt hesitated until Shiro made an inquiring noise. The scientist looked back at him sadly, like he had when he told Shiro they would have to amputate his arm. “When he was found, he’d been abandoned by his pod because of his injuries. If he heals, we could reintroduce him to the water, but lone mer without a pod, tend not to fare well in the wild I’m afraid. It’d be best if he stayed with us. You’ll make him feel welcome, won’t you, Shiro?” 

Shiro looked from Dr. Holt to where the other mer had disappeared into the kelp and back again. He hesitated, but nodded. He’d do his best for the new mer. If anything, he knew what it was like to be alone and afraid. 

Dr. Holt smiled. “I knew I could count on you Shiro,” he said. “I’ll be back tomorrow morning to check on you both, and I’ll tell Matt to stop by before he leaves for the night. Good night.” 

Shiro waved before ducking back down into the water. Drifting over to the partition again, Shiro tried to make out the shape of the other mer in the kelp, but couldn’t tell him from the shifting shadows. Shiro sighed, but turned to propel himself toward his den, thinking of the name Dr. Holt had called the other mer, “Spitfire,” the shine of his dark scales, and the pull of the moon. 

**Author's Note:**

> Swim on over to [twitter](https://twitter.com/tea_an_books) for more monstrous updates.


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